Plating rack with removable tips



y 1957 J. NOVITSKY PLATING RACK WITH REMOVABLE TIPS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1953 IN V EN TOR.

7072 oviissigr BY Z May 28, 1957 J. NOVITSKY 2,793,994

. PLATING RACK WITH REMOVABLE TIPS Filed April 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NIH I HHH INVENTOIIL kfasep .J/bvzislg/ Unite PLATING RACK WITH REMOVABLE TIPS Joseph Novitsky, Jamaica, N. Y. Application April 29, 1953, Serial No. 351,789

1 Claim. (Cl. 204-297) plating racks with tips of various types and proportions in order to meet the need of customers.

It has heretofore been the practice to permanently secure the various tips to their supporting spines. This practice has been costly and it has involved many apparent disadvantages. The spines of plating racks are quite expensive since they are made of copper or other similar material. They are also expensive by reason of their thick insulating coats. Moreover, they'are space consuming and they represent a capital investment which under the practice above mentioned remains idle much of the time.

Attempts have been made in the past to devise ways and means of detachably securing the tips of the spines. The object of such attempts has been to reduce the number of spines which would be required to handle all of the work. It would be possible, for example, to provide many times as many tips as spines since the tips would be interchangeable on the same spines. Thus, should hook-shaped tips be required for a given job, such tips would be mounted on the spines for that purpose. At the completion of this work, it would perhaps be found necessary to employ clip-type tips for the next job and in such case the hook-shaped tips would be detached from the spines and the clip tips would be substituted for them. It will be apparent from the foregoing that this procedure would render it possible to operate a plating plant with a maximum number of article supporting tips and with a minimum number of tip supporting spines.

Thus far, however, these attempts to provide detachable and replaceable tips have failed and the plating industry today employs plating racks with permanently secured tips to the virtual exclusion of plating racks with removable and replaceable tips.

It is the object of this invention to provide a plating rack of fully practical design and with detachable and interchangeable work-supporting tips. Basically, this invention comprises the use of a spine having a plurality of sockets permanently secured thereto. Tips are provided which include plug-like shanks which may be plugged into or withdrawn from said sockets. The shanks of the tips, irrespective of the nature, construction and proportions of the tips, are all interchangeable with respect to the same sockets. All that need be done to substitute one tip for another is to withdraw the second States Patent 2,793,994 Patented May 28, 1957 2 tip from the socket which it occupies and to insert the first mentioned tip.

The invention contemplates the use of sockets of every conceivable construction and the use of every conceivable type of plug-shaped shank which would be detachably engageable with said sockets. The specification and drawing disclose several socket constructions and several tip constructions but it will be clearly understood that these disclosures are presented solely for illustrative purposes and the invention is not to be considered to be limited in any way whatsoever to these illustrative forms.

Another object of this invention is the provision of auxiliary spines in addition to the main or principal spines. A typical spine is provided with a hook-shaped top end so that it may be supported from a horizontally extending wire or rod. The main or principal spines herein disclosed are similarly provided with hook-shaped top end portions. The auxiliary spines, on thelother hand, are not intended to be hung from a supporting horizontal rod or wire. Instead, these auxiliary spines are provided with plug-shaped end portions or shanks which are engageable with the sockets of the main or principal spines in precisely the same manner as the individual tips themselves are engageable with said sockets.

The auxiliary spines are intended to be supported on the main spines to increase the capacity of the main spines. The auxiliary spines, like the main spines, are provided with a plurality of tip-supporting sockets and whenone or more auxiliary spines are supported on one or more main spines, both the auxiliary spines and the main spines may be provided with work-supporting tips.

An important feature of this invention is the fact that the tips herein claimed may be very quickly attached to and detached from the socket members which are herein claimed. It is not enough that plating rack tips be detachable; they must be quickly detachable and equally as quickly attachable in order to be practical.

Preferred forms of this invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a spine made in accordance with this invention and of a plurality of tips, also made in accordance with this invention, and detachably mounted on said spine.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a hook-shaped tip made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 3 is an end view of said tip.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of another tip made in accordance with this invention, said tip having clip-functioning arms.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the tip shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of one of the plugs used to close a socket when the socket is not in use.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view showing one of the socket constructions herein claimed. 1

Fig. 8 is an end view of one of said sockets.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary side view of another socket construction herein claimed.

Fig. 10 is still another fragmentary side view of a third type of socket construction herein claimed.

Fig. 11 is a transverse section through a spine and a top view of a socket construction made in accordance with a fourth form of this invention.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line 1212 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is another transverse section through the spine and a top view of a socket construction made in accordance with a fifth form of this invention.

Fig. 14 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 15 is a side view of two spines made in accordance with Fig. 1 but showing them supporting two auxiliary spines made in accordance with one form of this invention.

Fig. 16 is a view similar to that of Fig. 15, but showing 3 only one spine made in accordance with Fig. 1, showing two auxiliary spines different in construction from the auxiliary spines of Fig. '15, mounted on said main sp ne. I

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that a spine is provided whose upper end is bent to form a hookshaped portion 12. The specific shape of book at the top end of the spine as shown in Fig. '1 is not critical and it is presented solely for illustrative purpose. It will be noted that the upper'end of the spine is bare but the main body of the spine is coated with an insulating coating 14 of suitable material, such as the various plastisols which are conventionally used for this purpose. Illustrative is the plastisol which is sold under the designation Unichrome Coating -21'8X by United Chromium, Incorporated of New ork-, New York and Waterbury, Connecticut. If desired, a .primer, such as Uni'chrome Primer 219,-;PX of the same company may be applied to the -metal before the .plastisol coating-is applied. This insulating .coating is intended to shield the spine from the electrolytic bath.

The illustrated spine is provided with eight sockets 16. There are four sockets on one side of the spine and foursockets on the opposite side thereof, diametrically opposite the first group of fou r sockets. This arrangement is intended to be purely illustrative and it will clearly be understood that anydesired or required number of sockets may be provided on a single spine. For example, the sockets may, if desired, be arranged on four sides of the spine, rather than on only two sides as shown in Fig. 1. Each group of four sockets would radiate from the spine like the spokes of a wheel and there would be as many such groups as the length of the spine would permit.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the type of socket with which the spine shown in Fig. 1

is provided. It will there be seen that each socket 16 consists of a pair of L-shaped bars 18. The,upper bar 18 is positioned right side up with its-vertical portion 18a secured to the spine by means of rivets 20. The horizontal portion 18b of the L- shaped bar projects horizontally and away from the spine. The lower bar 18 is inverted and its vertical portron 18a is also secured to the spine by means offrivets 20 and its horizontal portion 1811 projects horizontally and away from the spine.

The two horizontal portions 18b of the two L-shap'ed bars 18 define a socket between them. It will be noted that these two horizontal portions ae not perfectly parallel to each other but instead tend to converge toward their outer ends. It will be understood that when apl'ug is inserted between them, they will resiliently yield and flex outwardly and away fromeach other in order to accommodate and rightly grip the plug. When the plug is removed therefrom, the two horizontal bars will spring back to their original positions as shown in Fig. 7.

'It will be noted in Fig. 8 that grooves 22 are formed in the two horizontal bars-on their inner, facing sides. These grooves extend longitudinally of the horizontal bars and they occupy a common vertical plane. When a plug is inserted into "the socket, it actually entersgrooves 22 and it will be understood that these grooves serve as guide tracks or channels forthe' plug to hold it in. place and to prevent anylateral shifting or -dislodgment thereof.

It will further be noted in Figs. 7 and 8 that the outer ends of the horizontal bars of thetwo -L-shaped members are curved or curled outwardly' 'and away from each other to form lips 24. These lips areprovide d to guide the plug between the two horizontal parts of the Lsha'ped bars. The practical effect of lips 24 is to guide and'cam the plug into the socket. More importantly, these lips are provided to strengthen the ends of the L-s'haped bars in order to prevent splitting alongthe grooves. Aring 25 maybe mounted uponhorizontal portion 18b of the t L-shaped bars to prevent them from spreading beyond a predetermined extent under the weight of heavy objects. An important feature of this invention is the fact that the insulating coating is applied after the socket members are secured to the spine. There are no scams or other joints between the insulating coating on the sockets and the insulating coating on the spine. in order to coat both the spine and the socket members without applying any coating to the inside of the socket members, a plug 30 shown in Fig. 6, is inserted between the socket members before the coating operation commences. The spine, the socket members and the outwardly extending portion of the plug are accordingly coated simultaneously and all are therefore covered with a continuous unbroken coating of selected material and to predetermined thickness. One step remains to be completed before the plating rack thus described is available for use. In this step the insulating material is cut along line ab in order to free the plugs from the rack. See Fig. 6 and Fig. 1. That part of each plug which is disposed to the right of lineal: retains its coating of insulating material. That part which is disposed to the left of line ab is bare of any coating material since during the coating process it was disposed within the socket of the plating rack. By the same token, the socket of the plating rack is equally free and bare of insulating material and it will be under stood that this is necessary in order to provide good electrical contact between the plating rack on the one hand and the work supporting tips on the other hand. When itis desired to make use of only some of the sockets and not all of them during the course of a particular plating operation, plugs 30 are inserted into the unused sockets in order to plug them up and to prevent contact with the-electrolytic solution. The insulating coating on plugs 30 will-abut the insulating coating surrounding the sockets of the plating rack and a tight seal will thereby be formed to prevent entry into the sockets of the electrolytic solution.

Fig. 9 illustrates a second socket construction. It will there 'be seen'that a pair of L-shaped bars 32 and 34 are provided, and that they are arranged differently from L- shaped bars 18 above described. Both bars 32 and 34 are situated right side up. The vertical portion 34a of bar 34 is positioned flat against the spine 10. The vertical'portion 32a of bar 32 is situated flat against vertical portion 34a of bar 34 and both said vertical portions are secured to the spine by means of rivets 36 or any other suitable fastening means. The horizontal portions 32b of bar 32 and 34b of 'bar 34 project substantially parallel to each other in the same general direction away from spine 10. These two horizontal portions converge slightly toward each other at their outer ends in order to provide resilient engagement with the shank of the tip. These two horizontal portions are forced apart beyond their relationship shown in Fig. 9 when the shank of the tip is inserted therebetween. The ends 32c and 340 of theytwo'horizontal portions of said bars are curled in opposite directions to render it easy to insert the shank of the tip between the two horizontal portions. It will be understood that longitudinally extending and registering grooves are formed on the facing sides of the two horizontalportions similar to grooves 22 shown in Fig. 8. The'shank of the tip. is inserted into said grooves to provide a locking engagement with the two horizontal portions 32b and 34b which together constitute the socket construction forming the second embodiment of this invention.

Fig. '10 shows athird variation of socket construction herein claimed. In this form of the invention two U- shaped members 40 and 42 are provided and it will be seenthat one offthese U-shaped members is larger than the other. Thelarger U-shaped member 40 is disposed withits yoke 40a in vertical position fiat against the spine 10. Its two. arms 40b and 400 project laterally outwardly from the spine on substantially horizontal planes. Yoke 42a is also disposed in a vertical pbsition, flat against yoke 40aof the larger U-shaped member. Rivets 44 or any other suitable fastening means are provided to secure the two yokes of the two U-shaped members to the spine and to each other. Arms 42b and 420 project laterally outwardly from yoke 42a in substantially parallel relation to each other and to arms 40b and 40c. Like the arms of the socket members above described, however, arms 40b and 42b tend to converge toward each other in the direction away from the spine and arms 40c and 420 also tend to converge toward each other in the direction away from the spine. The end portions of arms 40b, 40c, 42b and 420 are provided, respectively, with curved or curled lips 40d, 40a, 42d and 42a, in order to facilitate insertion of the shank portions of the tips. The horizontal arms are also provided on their inner facing sides with longitudinally extending grooves corresponding to grooves 22 shown in Fig. 8.

Turning now to Figs. 11 and 12, it will be seen that a double U-shaped member 50 is provided which defines two sockets, one at each end. This member has a yoke 52 and a pair of U-shaped members 54 and 56 respectively at the two ends of said yoke. The yoke occupies a horizontal plane and it is secured by means of one or more rivets 58 to the spine 10. The two U-shaped members 54 and 56 are grooved internally in the manner indicated in Fig. 8 and the outside arm of'each J-shaped member is vprovided with a curved or curled lip 60. The curved shoulder 62 between the yoke and the inner arm of each of these U-shaped members performs the same function as the curved lip 60.

Referring now to Figs. 13 and 14, it will be seen that the fifth type of socket construction herein claimed consists of a pair of substantially parallel bars 70 and 72 respectively which are secured intermediate their ends to the spine by means of one or more rivets 74 or the like. The two bars 70 and 72 are bowed inwardly toward each other at their respective ends to provide a resilient engagement with the shanks of the tips which would be inserted between them. It will be seen that these two bars occupy a common horizontal plane and that they project outwardly from both sides or opposite sides of the spine. The spine is sandwiched in between them as are the shanks of the tips when they are inserted in operative positions. It-will be noted that curved or curled end portions 76 are provided at the ends of both arms 70 and 72. It will also be understood that the facing sides of said arms may be provided with longitudinally extending grooves to receive the shanks of the tips.

Referring once again to plug 30, it will be understood that this plug is rectangular in cross-section. Opposing corners or edges would be inserted into the opposing grooves 22. This would prevent the plugs from turning in their respective sockets. This fact is not very important insofar as the plugs are concerned, since they are not disposed to any unbalanced force which would tend to turn them in either direction in the sockets which they occupy. This feature is, however, of considerable importance in connection with some of the tips which may be used with this invention.

The rectangular cross-section of the shank is simply illustrative and other polygonal and non-circular crosssectional shapes may be employed for the purposes of this invention. Hexagonal stock, for example, would be a satisfactory material for this purpose. It will of course be understood that the non-circular shape of the shanks of the tips is important only where the tips would otherwise tend to swivel or twist in their respective sockets. In cases where the tips would normally remain in a predetermined operative position, there would be no real need for a shank of non-circular cross-section.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be seen that a hook-shaped tip 80 is provided which is made of a single length of square rod bent to form a hook 82 and a shank 84. The shank extends substantially horizontally and the hook is forrried at one end of said shank. An insulating coating 86 is applied to the crook of tip 80, partly on the shank and partly down the hook-shaped end portion. When shank 84 is inserted into any one of the sockets above described, its rectangular crosssectional shape will prevent it from turning or twisting in the socket. Insulating coating 86 will abut the insulation surrounding the socket and will provide a tight seal to prevent the electrolytic solution from entering the socket. The hook 82 will remain bare so as to support the object which is to be plated and to make electrical contact therewith. It will be understood that this hook shaped tip may be made of round stock without any change in its round shape or it may be made of round stock -with its shankportion deformed to rectangular cross-sectional shape or any other non-circular shape. Similarly, the entire unit may be made of a single length of rod or of two lengths of rod secured to each other. In such case, the shank portion might'be made of rec tangular, rod and the hook portion of round rod.

Figs. 4 and 5 show another type of work supporting tip. Here the shank 90 is made of rectangular rod and it is flattened at one end to form a flat portion 92 with upwardly extending prongs 94 formed thereon. A hole is formed in the flat portion to accommodate a bolt or rivet 96. A pair of V-shaped arms 98 and are superimposed one upon the other and their vertexes or yokes are engaged by bolt 96 and locked in place on flattened portion 92. The actual construction of these arms is, however, shown particularly in Fig. 4 to involve the use of two lengths of wire, each length bent over upon itself to form an upper portion 98 and a lower portion 100 and a bight 102 between said upper and lower portions at one end thereof. It is this bight which is engaged by bolt 96 and the two bights of the two wire members are superimposed one upon the other and against flattened portion 92 so that the same bolt 96 will lock the two wires and the shank together. Prongs 94 holds the two portions 98 and 100 together adjacent bight 102 and each of these prongs serves as a fulcrum when said portions 98 and 100 are flexed apart upon the insertion of an article which is to be plated. It will be noted that the upper portion 98 is provided with corrugations 104 at its free end and it will be understood that these corrugations are intended to provide a better holding grip upon the work. The prongs and shank 90 are assembled before the insulating material 106 is applied to them. Consequently, the insulating material covers a part of the shank, including its flattened portion 92 and prongs 94 and it also covers bolt 96 and the two bights 102 as well as portions of arms 98 and 100 adjacent said bights.

Shank 90 may be made rectangular in cross-section for the reasons above set forth and it may be inserted into any one of the sockets above described. The insulating coat 106 will abut theinsulation surrounding the socket to prevent the electrolytic solution from entering the socket.

Although only two tips are shown in the drawing, it will be understood that they are intended solely for illustrative purposes and any conventional type of tip may be employed for the purposes of this invention providing, however, it includes a shank similar to but not necessarily identical with shanks 84 and 90.

Referring now to Fig. 15, it will be seen that two insulated spines 10 are provided, each with a hook-shaped upper end 12, and with a plurality of sockets 16, precisely as shown in Fig. 1. The two spines are supported in spaced parallel relationship and one or more rods 110 are supported between them. Each rod is inserted at one end into one of the sockets of one of the spines 10 and at its opposite end into a corresponding or registering socket on the other spine 10. Rods 110 are provided with a plurality of tips 112 on which work may be supported. These tips may be fixedly secured to the rods 110 or they may be detachably secured thereto by means of sockets similar to those which have above been described. -Rods'1 may be insulated except at their tips 1121and at-their ends which are inserted into-sockets 16. It will be seen that rods 110 may be employed to increase the capacity-of spines 10. They maybe plugged into and pulledoutof :socket '16'inprecisely the same manner as the individual tips above described.

Fig. 16 shows a variation over Fig. 15. In Fig. 16 U-shaped rods 120 are provided, their yokes 122 being disposed in vertical position and their arms 1 24 and 126 in horizontal position. A.plurality of tips 128 may be fixedlyor detachably secured to yokes 1'22 as Fig. 16 clearly'shows. The horizontal arms 1-24 and 126 would beplugged-into sockets 16 on spine 10. These U-shaped arms 1 20 should be coated with insulating material on all of their :parts except-their tips and their ends which are pl'ug'ged into the sockets.

The foregoing is'illustrative of preferred forms of this invention and it will be underso'od that-these preferred forms may be modified and other forms maybe provided within the'broadspirit'of the invention and the broad scope-ofthe claim.

I claim:

A, plating rack comprising a spine, a plurality of socket members on said'spine, and work-holding tips slidably each other, and being provided on theirfacin'g sides with registering, longitudinally extending grooves which are substantially 'V-shaped'in cross-section, each work-holding tip being provided with "a shank which is substantially square in=cross-section, the corners of said square shank being in engagement withsaid V-shaped: grooves, whereby the work-holding 'tip is held against angular movement about the longitudinal axis of said shank, while being longitudinally movable along said V-shaped grooves for removal therefrom, the free ends of the bars being curved in opposite directions away from each other to form a pair of curved lipsadapted to-facilitate insertion of said shank into said 'V-shaped grooves, and a ring mounted on said bars behind said lips to prevent spreading of-said bars away from each other beyond a predetermined extent when said shank is held within .said V-shaped grooves.

References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 197,408 Rogers Nov. 20, 1877 1,755,123 Lichtman Apr. 15, 1930 1,836,066 Edison Dec. 15, 1931 OTHER REFERENCES Belke: Plating Rack Manual, June 8, 1947, page 31.

Metal Finishing, Nov. 1949,.pa'ge 76.

Practical Handbook on Electroplating, Canning, 11th ed. (1932), pages 152- 154. 

